The invention presented herein relates to an assembly including a gaseous discharge tube and circuitry therefor that is operable for providing light signals for the control of traffic control signals and in particular to such an assembly that is mountable as a part of a light bar assembly which has other light sources, such light bar assembly being of the type that is mounted on the top of an emergency or public safety vehicles, such as police and fire department vehicles.
A lightbar assembly, of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,268 to Robert Ferenc, that is mountable on the roof of an emergency or public safety vehicle has been sold and is currently available. The assembly disclosed in the patent has an I-beam structure member as a central support member. The I-beam structure member is a metal extrusion having locking grooves extending the length of the I-beam in the edges of the upper and lower flange portion of the I-beam. The I-beam flanges are also provided with aligned upper and lower integral locating grooves which receive support brackets for the light reflectors used with the light sources of the lightbar. The locating grooves also extend the length of the I-beam and are located a short distance from the edges of the I-beam flanges so the outermost surface of the light reflectors mounted on the I-beam are nearly flush with the edges of the upper and lower I-beam flanges. Lens sections for the light plus dividers and associated gaskets for the lens sections are received in the upper and lower locking grooves of the I-beam and extend forward of the edges of the I-beam flanges.
There is need for a compact assembly including a single gaseous discharge tube and power supply therefor that can be mounted between the upper and lower flanges of the I-beam of a lightbar assembly of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,268, supra. It is desirable also that such an assembly be one that can be fitted readily on existing lightbar assemblies of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned patent and for aesthetic reasons should be capable of being positioned centrally of the lightbar assembly. Such an assembly is usable to provide a gaseous discharge tube that is operable to produce signals that can be detected to initiate the operation of circuitry that is effective to control traffic control lights.